Russian security service seeks probe into hostage shootout

death Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB, has asked the prosecutor-general's office to investigate the death of one of its officers during a shootout outside the Swedish embassy in Moscow last week.

ITAR-TASS news agency said the officer, Colonel Anatoliy Savelyev, had voluntarily taken the place of a Swedish national being held hostage in a car outside the embassy by a gunman demanding ransom money.

Anti-terrorist forces shot the gunman dead in a night-time operation, which also left Savelyev dead.

The FSB said their agent sustained bullet wounds in the rescue operation, but had died of a heart attack.

Medical experts from the FSB and defence ministry said four bullets hit Savelyev "after clinical death had occurred, caused by acute cardiac insufficiency" , and they "insisted that none of the wounds was fatal," ITAR-TASS said.

However, some of the media were voicing suspicions that the officer was killed by his subordinates in the operation.

"The case has been referred to the prosecutor's office to ensure an unbiased and comprehensive ... investigation," the Security Service said in a statement.

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